Tyson Fury compares himself to Larry Holmes after loss to Oleksandr Usyk

Tyson Fury felt he deserved to defeat Oleksandr Usyk in their Saudi Arabia rematch. 

Instead, Usyk won by 116-112 on all three scorecards but the Englishman said his rival, who also defeated him via split decision in May, had been given a gift.

“I felt I won both fights. I know I have to knock him out to get a decision, but it’s boxing and it happens,” Fury said at the post-fight press conference. “There’s no doubt in my mind I won the fight.”

Fury, who knows his boxing history, pointed to the two close fights between Larry Holmes and Michael Spinks in the 1980s. Spinks, having moved up from light heavyweight, twice defeated Holmes in close fights, and Holmes swore he was robbed both times. 

“I was quite confident,” Fury said, reflecting on going into the last round against former cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk. “I thought I’d won the fight, again. I thought I got Larry Holmesed again.

“I thought I won both fights, but then again I’ve gone home with two losses on my record now so there’s not much I can do about it. Fight my heart out and do the best I can. But I’ll always believe, until the day I die, I won that fight. 

“I was on the front foot all night, landing to body and head. Sometimes it’s hard to score. I’m not going to cry over spilt milk. I know boxing. I’ve been in it all my life. You can’t change no decisions, but I’ll always feel a little bit hard done by. Not a little bit, a lot. But when you don’t get the knockout, this is what happens. You can’t guarantee a win.”

Fury took a moment to thank those who had travelled to support him and added “we move on,” but he would not commit to whether he would fight on in 2025.

The 36-year-old has long been linked to boxing Anthony Joshua, but asked whether fans would see him back next year, Fury replied: “You might do, you might not do. We’ll talk about that next year.”

In their first fight in May, Usyk famously staggered and damaged Fury in round nine, but there were no such dramatics last night.

“In that fight there, never hurt me once,” Fury added. “But it is what it is. I know what’s happened. And that’s it.”

Asked what he would do next, Fury said: “Go home and have a good Christmas. I’ve been away 12 weeks, it’s a long time, I’m going to go home and enjoy it. In my opinion, [it was a] Christmas gift, it’s not Oleksandr’s fault. Congratulations to him and his team, congratulations to everybody.”